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Ireland Facts Festivals, the venues and datesIreland's Festivals, in fact there are there are hundreds of them, from the very small to the very large. Festivals play a huge role in the cultural life of the country, with each county having their own festival of some kind or another. Obviously some are bigger and more well known than others and I will just give a list of some of the more well known and the approximate time of the year for each festival.
Ireland facts festivals for March to MayMarchOccurimg in March obviously, the St.Patrick's Day Festival,Dublin is now a five day extravaganza. An estimated 500,000 people attend the parade itself but there is now a lot more to the festival. Fireworks displays, street theatre, dance, music,art exhibitions and loads of family oriented fun make this a great time to be around Ireland's capital city. May The Bantry Mussel Fair is a three day extravaganza held in the second week of May. The festival takes over the town and there is music in most of the bars, and a big central platform in Wolfe Tone Square, for some pretty big names: bands, choirs, dancers and all sorts. There are stalls and side-shows and usually a travelling fair or circus. Mussels are everywhere, the atmosphere is to say the least - lively.
Ireland facts festivals for June to JulyJuneProbably Ireland's major festival in June is The Listowel Writers' Week in County Kerry. Readings, seminars,lectures,workshops and no shortage of fun. Anyone with even the slighest literary bent should get themselves down to Listowel for this. No matter what your age there is something for you in John B. Keane's home town. July Milltown Malbay,County Clare hosts the Willie Clancy Summer School in July. This festival of music sees the whole range of Irish traditional music being celebrated , learned, taught,lectured upon, indeed given the whole treatment. Named after one of Ireland's most celebrated musicians the festival has been going on for years and attracts 1,000's of students and fans to the Clare venue. Galway,July, considered by many to be Ireland's cultural capital plays host to the Galway Arts Festival. Probably the biggest festival of it's kind in Europe the festival is a massive International and Irish celebration of visual and performance arts. Theatre,music and street performances are the backbone of this festival in The City of the Tribes.
Ireland facts festivals for Aug. to Oct.AugustFleadh Ceol na hEireann, the biggest gathering of traditional Irish musicians on the planet. Taking place in a different town every 2 years it is non-stop entertainment with ceilidh, concerts, sessions and street entertainment. Over four thousand musicians take part in a wide variety of competitions but more than ten thousand would be performing at various venues throughout the chosen town. Hosting the Fleadh is a massive undertaking but to be chosen to host it is considered a great honour. Galway also has the Galway Races in late July / early August where the great and the good get to mingle over one of Ireland's great passions,Horses. A massive event for the whole country and next to going to cheer on the Irish in Cheltenham England,Galway Races is the place to be. ballybrit Racecourse on the outskirts of galway City is the venue. Another massive occasion is the Rose of Tralee Festival, young ladies of Irish ancestry vie for the title of Rose of Tralee and of course there are the attendant sideshows.The Rose of Tralee International Festival is based on the the love song by by William Mulchinock a 19th century wealthy merchant who was in love with Mary O’Connor, his maid. Ballsbridge, Dublin hosts the horsey set for one of the worlds premier showjumping events at the Royal Dublin Society (R.D.S.). Loads of national competitions for all grades but the main event is the team competition for the Aga Khan Trophy. September September and it's back to Galway again for the Galway International Oyster Festival. Voted one of the 12 greatest shows on earth people from all parts of the globe come to ireland to celebrate the Oyster. Of course there is the little matter of the Guinness sponsored World Oyster Opening Championship. Gourmet food, live music great Guinness and people from all over the world ,what more could you want. Dublin Theatre Festival, in September, is a two week celebration of all that is Theatre with events occuring at venues all over the city. Every aspect of theatre is celebrated in a festival that has been around since 1957. Many premieres of plays by leading Irish writers such as Brian Friel, Tom Murphy, Hugh Leonard and Frank McGuinness, have been presented by the Festival. October Cork city hosts the one of the premier world jazz festivals when the finest exponents of jazz converge on Cork in October. On the go since 1977 , Cork has consistently attracted the fines of all jazz musicians. The Cork Jazz Festival is one of Ireland's most successful Arts & Cultural Events and one of the top three Jazz festivals in the world. It attracts over 40,000 visitors to Cork City each October Bank Holiday Weekend Belfast Festival at Queens, going since 1962 has everything covered. Literature,jazz,classical,dance,folk,popular,theatre. You name it ,this festival has it.
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